BEST CHILL MUSIC - WEEK 2

Can I be honest with you?

I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions.

While I'm all for the idea of self-improvement and being a better person, there's no doubt I find the whole thing a little overwhelming at times.

For some, simply getting through the day is an achievement in itself. Just a quick reminder, then, no matter what New Year's resolutions you may or may not have set yourself this 2020: I think you're doing great :).

Check out this week's edition of We Are: The Guard's Best Chill Music, featuring Lane 8, Khalid, Teen Daze, and more.

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LANE 8 – JUST

Every once in a while, I come across a song that takes me back to a simpler time. “Just” by Lane 8 is one of those songs. The sixth single to be unveiled from his LP Brightest Lights – out today! – is inherently childlike in nature, with giggling arpeggios wrapping around a thudding four-on-the-floor beat for a truly rapturous, joyous nostalgic adventure.

KHALID – ELEVEN

Khalid is going on a late-night drive with a lover on his latest single “Eleven.” “Late at night, eleven, we're cruisin'/Lately, I've been watchin' your movements/If I'm the only one that you're choosin'/Am I your favorite drug you've been usin'?” croons the R&B artist on the Usher-style retro slow jam, which makes for an essential addition to any after-dark playlist.

TEEN DAZE – OPEN

Canada's Teen Daze is taking us up to Cloud Nine on his lighter-than-air latest single “Open.” Written while on tour with fellow We Are: The Guard favorite Chrome Sparks, the weightless “Open” hears Teen Daze expertly binding elements of both ambient and dance music, with ticking, clubcentric beats providing an anchor around which synths float freely.

TRAVIS SCOTT – HIGHEST IN THE ROOM (REMIX FEAT. ROSALÍA & LIL BABY)

Travis Scott teams up with ROSALÍA for a remix of his recent loosie, the psychedelic-as-hell “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM.” It goes without saying the “A Palé” songstress makes for a perfect addition to the cut, with the 26-year-old's heavy-lidded Spanish-language verse slinking around the trap beats with ease, while Lil Baby also makes a hallucinatory cameo.

SUMMER WALKER & USHER – COME THRU

Exclusive footage of me listening to this song *hot*:

SAN HOLO (FEAT. SOFIE WINTERSON) – LIFT ME FROM THE GROUND (MANILA KILLA REMIX)

Just over five months on from its original release, “lift me from the ground” by We Are: The Guard favorite San Holo gets a captivating club remix this Friday courtesy of Manila Killa. Listen as the Filipino producer underpins the album1 highlight with a thumping four-on-the-floor dance beat, while hypnotic synth flourishes carry the cut to the house music heavens.

VERZACHE – TALK

Introducing Verzache, a producer and singer-songwriter hailing from Canada who's inviting us into his world of hazy heartache on “Talk.” “Yeah/Too many problems I don't talk about/Keep 'em bottled inside then I pass out,” croons Zach Farache on the smoky post-breakup ballad, which effortlessly blends a warm acoustic organicity with hard-hitting kicks.

AMTRAC (FEAT. TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS) – RADICAL

Amtrac and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs? It doesn't get much better than this, let me tell you! Listen as the electronic producers come together in the most otherworldly of synergies on “Radical,” with Amtrac bringing the dance energy with a bubbling bassline and shuffling beats, while TEED turns up the ambience with an utterly ethereal vocal line.

JKUCH – NEW YEAR

This is gorgeous. JKuch is reflecting on the start of a new decade on his latest single “New Year.” “There's new fears again/Again, again, again/It's a new year again/Again, again, again,” sings the Buffalo act on the dreamily glistening cut, which manages to touch on the anxiety that comes with new beginnings, while also sounding utterly uplifting and stunning.

QUANDO RONDO (FEAT. A BOOGIE WIT DA HOODIE & 2 CHAINZ) – BAD VIBE

Quando Rondo, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and 2 Chainz join forces for the trippytastic “Bad Vibe.” Featured on Quando's LP QPac – out today! – “Bad Vibe” sounds like it's emerging through a haze of smoke and raining stacks of cash, with Quando singing of finding love in the club, before A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and 2 Chainz contribute a couple of wavy verses.

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Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

Jess Grant is a frustrated writer hailing from London, England. When she isn't tasked with disentangling her thoughts from her brain and putting them on paper, Jess can generally be found listening to The Beatles, or cooking vegetarian food.